World Cup 2023: Bangladesh started the tournament with a win, defeated Afghanistan unilaterally

New Delhi: Bangladesh, which entered the World Cup 2023 with many internal controversies regarding team selection, has started its tournament with a win. Bangladesh, under the captaincy of Shakib Al Hasan, defeated Afghanistan in a one-sided fashion by 6 wickets in its very first match. The stars of this victory of Bangladesh were captain Shakib himself and all-rounder Mehdi Hasan Miraj, whose spin destroyed the Afghan batting and reduced them to just 156 runs. Then Miraj also scored a half-century and played a big role in taking the team to victory.

These two South Asian teams faced each other in the third match of the World Cup on Saturday, October 7 at the HPCA Cricket Ground in Dharamshala. There was a lot of curiosity about the clash between these two teams full of spin-all-rounders on the fast pitch of Dharamshala. All eyes were especially on the Bangladeshi team, which was caught in the war of words between captain Shakib Al Hasan and former captain Tamim Iqbal just before the start of the World Cup. Tamim did not get a place in the team for this World Cup.

Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and started bowling first. In this match which started in the morning, the impact of fast bowlers was expected but it did not happen. Bangladeshi pacers failed to achieve success in the beginning. Then captain Shakib (3/30) himself took charge and took the first two wickets. Afghan batsmen continuously failed to stay on the crease.

By the 24th over, Afghanistan had scored 110 runs and only 2 wickets had fallen but from here Miraj (3/25), Mehmudullah and other bowlers started taking wickets. Only Rahmanullah Gurbaz (47) put up some fight but on the other hand, due to lack of runs and falling wickets, he too lost his patience and became the victim of Mustafizur Rahman. Afghanistan’s lower order could not put up any fight. The entire team collapsed for 156 runs in just 37.2 overs.

Bangladeshi batting also did not have a good start and both the openers, Tanjid Hasan and Liton Das returned to the pavilion after scoring just 27 runs. Then the team was taken over by young batsmen Najmul Hussain Shanto and Miraj. Mirage, who has been batting in the top order for the last few matches, once again proved this decision right. There was a partnership of 97 runs between Miraj and Shanto, which ensured Bangladesh’s victory.

Miraj (57) was out after scoring his half-century, while captain Shakib Al Hasan also did not last long. Shanto, however, was determined to end the match. Shanto (59 not out), playing his first World Cup match, scored a fighting half-century and ended the match with a four in the 35th over, giving the team a big win.

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